Palace of The Golden Horses @ Mines Resort

Going to a place never been before? We are all behind time. Just around Kuala Lumpur alone, I have been to Genting, Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam but never to the Mines Resort - an old mine converted to a resort. I missed the company trip some years back on a 3-day trip (including travel time by bus) and I reckoned I was too lazy to go through the trouble of packing and probably just enough time for a day of golf and back.

This trip was prearranged way back and just having been back from Krabi and returning to read the news of the Orchard Road flood and then the 7-hour jam ordeal at the Causeway through JB almost had me nauseating. Can you imagine getting stuck there and then your food/water runs out and when you need to pee? Besides I hated long bus trip because I have taken 18 hour overnight bus trips before, rest a night then another gruelling 6 hour trip by van and another 2 hours by ferry. That was when I was poor. Though still poor, "let the poor say I am rich" - so I was thinking it's been so long ago and now this one is just 5 hours and with better buses and the family together looking at things along the journey or even taking a nap could be fun but when I read about the jam I froze.

In moments like these, I sing out a song and prayed fervently that we will somehow not be subjected to the finger-print exercise and caught in the jam. I do not know why or how but somehow as I can't back up now having given my commitment. When we got there, there was a little queue at Tuas (if you are not going to JB or somewhere near JB, Tuas is a better choice) and we got through immigration smoothly - no need for fingerprints. Phew!! Thank God for that. We travelled for maybe 2 hours and we stopped over Yong Peng for lunch break.

We started moving again. All we see were road signs and palm plantations on both sides and we managed to catch a movie on board the bus.

The Palace of The Golden Horses from just outside the end of the lobby.

Lake view from a corridor between hotel rooms.



























Painted ceiling at the main lobby. Horses are graceful and elegant animals.



























A statue of grandeur - golden horses.



























I learned quickly what television brand Malaysian TV stations are using - Haier from China.

The hotel lobby has a section of all the famous politicians and stars that have visited including sports and soccer stars like David Beckham, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos and many others. After I have visited, I think they may stick a photo of me there too. No? Hey, I could be famous! Well, one day they will put my photo there.

We went to the lake to recce and when we saw the skeletal remains of a cat fish on some rocks we could not understand why. The head was still intact. Our patience paid off when we were about to go on a boat trip. We caught a glimpse of a similar size catfish breathing on the edge of the water near some rocks and there were a couple of crows nearby watching. In a flash one of the crows attacked the catfish by pecking at it and then clawing it a bit above the water onto the rocks. Then it did that a second time and by now the catfish was well above the water on the rocks and both crows were having a meal of catfish sashimi. One thing I can tell you is that crows do not like fish head. Well, at least not the head of a cat fish. Crows are ugly but they are smart.

The view of the Golden Horses at the main entrance. You will find paintings of horses, wooden sculptures of horse heads hung on the walls, legs of tables and chairs with horse faces, etc. What they really need is to have some real wild horses on a ranch to complete it. It would be fun.

An angled view of the palace in the evening. Quite a nice architecture. There are large courtyards inside there too. A nice touch for me would be for them to have musicians playing music at the courtyards since I am the King.

We found some time and left on a boat trip to Mines Resort City. It costs RM8 per pax but the returned trip direct from the shopping centre cost more at RM17/pax.

The boatman does not looked Malaysian and he does not have exact change for us. After talking to him, I found that he is Nepalese. He was apologetic in not being able to get my change so he actually drove to another jetty to find his colleagues so that he could get the change. When I realised that I told him there was no need and that he could just keep the change as it was only a few Malaysian Ringgit. I like that in his honesty.

This is the Mines Resort golf course. Dr. Mahathir has a house there at the hill top. If you look carefully, there is one with a triangular pyramid-shaped roof top. That is the one.

You will have to disembark at a hotel near there, go up to the 4th floor (ground level) and walked a short distance and bingo! - a transformation into another world. A nice concept. Thinking of Venice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byv4x3GGL8o. Imagine you are in a gondola at Venice and Renee and Renato singing to you with: Save Your Love - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdLfDg_cnIo

We should ease our congestion woes on the road by travelling by boats. They have boats where you can have a massage or food, etc. each with a special decor. Look at this one with a ladybird. It leads me to wonder where have all our ladybirds gone? I used to find so many of them when I was a child.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1xtpsY0_LI, I have no particular needs but shopping is to bless others and to prosper thy neighbours. So I just got myself something fitting to finally reveal who I really am..... without being ashamed of being ......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X69if5C3i9o and as super as I come I want to wake up to this tune each morning. I have always love this song by Maureen McGovern - Can You Read My Mind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyInno0Jxeg and finally a tribute to Christopher Reeves.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7x1dPUNHfM. He was also very good in Somewhere In Time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEhKxYnKGs a movie that I watched years ago so I am actually quite a romantic guy. It is probably the best-ever time travel/romantic movie ever made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_JmUMkLy7g. Reeves and Jane Seymour lighted up the movie with a great score and haunting melody by John Barry. If you haven't caught it, do so with your significant other. We are all here "somewhere in time" and I supposed that there are reasons why we got to know one another or are related don't you think?

On the way back, we will have to get into a water lift. I was trying to pull some legs when I said that we were at a high point and when the gate opens we will slide down and land with a splash but was overheard by others on the boat. Some looked a bit worried thinking I was for real. From 8m, they released the water level gradually down to ....

just some 2m.



























...and we were out of the gate.



























Just out there, there were many fishes. At one spot lots of tilapia and another nearby has plenty of catfish. They should name it Catfish Lake.

These catfish were huge, not as big as one can find at the Mekong River but still huge enough as you can see. Some of you may know, but catfish is cleverly named as "Pacific Dory" and commonly found in the supermarkets, when you ordered fish and chips and so on. If they say catfish or "Superior Catfish" most people may not buy. Just like Tan Ah Beng now known as Christopher Sebastian Tan. Packaging you know? Hey, don't call me catfish I'm now known as Pacific Dory. Woohoo!

Cranes at the golf course's water edge. I can train you to be a great golfer if you could stand on one leg for a long time like these birds. Come and see me after that.

I dislike looking at golf courses or people playing golf when on vacation as I was highly trained to attack pins or flag sticks on instinct. If I were a bird I would be called a Pinseeker (you know like Kingfisher, sandpiper).

Palatial architecture - view from our returned trip....



























...and from the jetty.

Among the interesting belts here when we were at Mid-Valley, which one would you like? The first one from the left in the second row is good for those of you who always cannot find their bottle opener.

A good way to slack at a shopping centre is to be accompanied by a good old ice cream or gelato. It will lift your spirit but increase fat content.

I saw this man who amazingly chopped off coconut husks so skilfully without damaging the flesh inside and then carefully poured out the entire fruit with juice intact into a container.

Why don't we have it this way here? If we do, I'll have a few each week even if the legs go soft as they say when you have too many? At only RM4 a pop, you can't go wrong.

KL jam if you have not seen one. We are not much better except that this was at 4.30pm.

In Malaysia, it is easy because the language though spelt differently can be easily grasped - farmasi means pharmacy, motosikal is motorcycle, imigresen means immigration and teksi is taxi. If you can't handle this mati (die) lah but not all words are like that.

It is apt at a palace to give thanks and to worship the King! To pray for each and everyone of you to have good health and happiness. To have buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few days is no joke. May have put on what I shed in the last 3 months. Sigh.

The Keropok here is fabulous - tasty and very crispy. Keropok are very important essentials when travelling in a bus or watching a movie. Before we got back, they did a stopover for a toilet break at a place called YoYo which sells all the snacks and foodstuffs and they showed you how the biscuits were freshly made. They also give each a card "to get your discount". Was wondering whether we are getting a discount or giving a commission credit to the bus operator. It does not matter, just get some.

Just hang in there and shake legs. Water is life. Take sips not gulps, otherwise when they stopover every 2 hours, you'll be running for your life to the toilets hopefully without spilling. Thank God the coast was clear when we got to Tuas.

Clearance was fast and home sweet home. I wanted to kiss the ground but it is easier to kiss the ground at Changi - they are carpeted and less people trampled on it.

Back to civilisation, back to life, back to reality. Holidays are over, got to get back to (oh no!!) work. Thanks to our Thai and Malaysian neighbours for hosting our holidays recently. And as in all things, give thanks! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TB54dZkzZOY